Is the opposition worth our vote?
Chinese in Sarawak must rethink their alliance with DAP, says SUPP.
Joseph Tawie, FMT
KUCHING: The Chinese community in Sarawak must rethink their alliance with opposition DAP.
The Chinese had last year shown their unhappiness with the Taib Mahmud-biased Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) by voting out all but two Chinese SUPP incumbents – Wong Soon Koh (Bawang Assan) and Lee Kim Shin (Senadin).
A shell-shocked SUPP went into denial before finally admitting that it had failed to read the signs which had already begun manifesting themselves in 2004. In 2006, SUPP lost two seats.
In the state election last year, the party lost 13 out of the 19 seats it contested to DAP.
Wong, who is a senior minister in Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s Cabinet, said if this continued then the Chinese community risked losing everything.
“The Chinese community should reconsider their support for the opposition.
“Although nothing could be changed now to undo what happened in the 2011 state election, the Chinese community still has a chance to make the right decision in the coming parliamentary election.
“In the 2011 election, SUPP lost all its Chinese majority seats in Kuching. Should that happen, then we will also be totally out of the mainstream.
“Can we sacrifice everything to support the opposition? Does the Chinese community here want to be totally cut off from the government?” asked Wong.
Wong’s desperation is understandable as six of the seven parliamentary seats allocated to SUPP are considered as “grey” areas.
Currently, the only “safe” seat is the Serian parliamentary constituency whose incumbent is Richard Riot.
In April this year, Wong, who also heads SUPP’s Sibu division, said wresting Sibu from DAP was “do-able”.
